DETROIT UPDATE

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

DETROIT TANK PLANT UPDATE

The following EPA press release updates our previous posting on the
Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant:

For Immediate Release March 20, 1998

EPA OK'S TRANSFER OF DETROIT ARSENAL PROPERTY TO CITY OF WARREN

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 said today it agrees
with the U.S. Army's finding that 32 acres of the Detroit Arsenal Tank
Plant are now suitable for transfer to the City of Warren, MI.
Significantly, the transfer agreement calls for institutional controls
that ensure no homes will ever be built on the site.

In February, EPA said that the Army's plans to deal with environmental
contamination at the former tank-test track area did not go far enough
to meet Federal facility cleanup standards.

After negotiations between EPA and the Army, the Army has agreed to
compare its soil-sampling results against EPA standards and to provide
for regularly scheduled opportunities for community input on cleanup
decisions.

The Detroit tank plant was built by the Army in 1940 and operated first
under Chrysler and then under General Dynamics as a battle tank factory
until it closed last December.

The remaining part of the tank plant property is being evaluated by a
base-closure team, including representatives from the Army, EPA, and
Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality.

Any other land transfers from the tank plant will also require EPA's OK
on cleanup.

Lenny Siegel
Director, SFSU CAREER/PRO (and Pacific Studies Center)
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/968-1126
lsiegel@cpeo.org